Esohe Igbinoba is the Director of Programs and Partnerships at Businessfront (publishers of Techpoint Africa). Her carreer spans over a decade, building teams and bringing communities together.
Over the years, she has answered numerous questions from fresh entrants in program management who are always eager to know what the career progression looks like and how they can position themselves to attract the right opportunities.
In this interview, Igbinoba addresses some of the frequently asked questions and offers practical insights for those seeking to excel in program management.
Who is a program manager? And what are some of the misconceptions people have about program management?
A program manager is someone who takes an idea and turns it into a living, breathing initiative, from strategy and stakeholder mapping, through execution, funding, and team resourcing, all the way to measuring the impact it actually had. It’s part strategist, part operator, part relationship-builder.
The biggest misconception is that program management is “just project management with a softer title” — that it’s mostly logistics and scheduling. In reality, a project manager is often executing something that’s already defined and funded.
A program manager frequently has to define the idea itself, find the money to fund it, build the team to deliver it, and manage the politics of multiple stakeholders who all want something different from the same initiative.
Another misconception is that it’s a “soft” career with a low ceiling. It isn’t. Done well, it’s one of the more lucrative paths available, with senior professionals earning as much as ₦5 million a month.
Can you walk us through the career progression/career ladder?
The typical ladder looks like this:
- Project/Operations Intern or Associate
- Program Associate
- Program Manager
- Head of Programs
- Director of Programs
- Executive Director / CEO (particularly in impact-focused program management organizations)
In the tech, digital innovation, and venture capital (VC) space specifically, the titles branch out a bit more — Portfolio Manager, Program Manager, Head of Platform and Networks, Project Manager, and even Venture Partner, among others.
Where can program managers work, and what are some of the core competencies required?
Program management skills travel well. You’ll find program managers across the tech and VC ecosystem — innovation hubs, venture capital firms, venture studios, accelerators, and incubators, as well as in SMEs, startups, last-mile organisations, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Demand is strong both locally and internationally.
On competencies, a well-rounded program manager needs strength across a fairly wide stack:
- Strategy development: shaping the program idea, building the plan, and mapping stakeholders.
- Project and program execution: actually driving delivery and hitting objectives.
- Team resourcing: building both internal and external teams.
- Sponsorships and partnerships: securing support from individuals and corporations.
- Budgeting and financial management.
- Vendor sourcing and management.
- Curriculum/program development, especially for educational programs.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: tracking and proving impact.
- Completion-rate management: for training programs, actively fighting drop-off, since 100 enrolled rarely means 100 completed.
- Program commercialisation: for paid programs, defining the thesis and audience, developing a brochure, pricing, securing facilitators, and sometimes selling it yourself.
- Business communication and stakeholder engagement
- Marketing: promoting the program itself
- Speaking and facilitation.
What should program managers who want to be well-paid focus on?
This is where I have a slightly contrarian view: program managers who develop programs that generate commercial value — from individual participants, corporates, or DFIs — tend to be paid significantly more than those running Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)-style programs.
CSR programs generate brand value, which matters, but organisations budget very differently for brand value versus revenue. A revenue-generating program is treated as business-critical. A CSR or operations-heavy program often isn’t valued the same way in compensation conversations.
So if you want to be well paid, focus on developing the skill to build programs that make money, not just programs that make an organisation look good.
As an experienced program manager, how will you execute a zero-budget program?
This is actually where I built my foundation. Early in my career at AIESEC, it was completely normal to be handed a program with no funding attached; you were expected to develop it, map out the stakeholders and potential sponsors, and pitch them yourself to secure funding.
So when I’m handed a zero-budget program, the approach is: treat the lack of funding as the first problem to solve, not a reason the program can’t happen. I develop the program concept properly, map out who would realistically benefit from being associated with it (potential sponsors and partners), and pitch them directly. The goal isn’t just to break even; it’s to fund the program and generate a profit for the company.
The ability to fund and monetise a program from scratch is one of the most underrated skills in this career. It is what separates program managers who plateau from those who go on to command premium pay.
How important is building a personal brand as a program manager?
Very important, and it’s something I’ve invested in deliberately — through storytelling, thought leadership, and hosting programs and ecosystem events. This industry is a “show, not tell” business.
Organisations want to see that you have the competency to execute because you’ve already done it — not just take a chance on your potential. Sharing your ideas, showcasing your work, promoting the programs you run, and speaking publicly about your wins is how opportunities start coming to you rather than you having to chase every one of them.
Does certification move the needle in program management?
Not as much as people think. Certifications like the Project Management Professional (PMP) are useful for demonstrating skills and structure, but they don’t meaningfully hinder or help your job search, nor do they determine your salary.
In 13 years in this field, no potential employer has ever asked me whether I have a PMP; what gets you hired and paid is demonstrated ability to build, fund, and deliver programs.
How does the program management role differ across a startup, a large corporate organisation, and a nonprofit?
The core skill set stays largely the same, but the context and what you’re optimising for shift.
In a startup, you’re often closer to the zero-budget scenario: leaner resources, more ambiguity, and more pressure to make a program pay for itself.
For a large corporation, there’s typically more structure and budget, but also more stakeholders, more layers of approval, and more scope creep to manage, which means the skill of “managing up” and helping executives see the real cost of shifting priorities becomes critical.
Whereas, in a nonprofit or impact-focused organisation, you’re often balancing CSR-style, brand-driven programs against the need to make a case for their value, still, and navigating donor priorities that can shift mid-program.
What’s your take on the future of program management?
I think the field is professionalising fast, and four shifts stand out to me. First, program management is becoming more explicitly commercial: fewer organisations can afford to fund programs purely for brand value, so the program managers who thrive going forward will be the ones who can already speak the language of revenue, ROI, and sustainability, not just delivery.
Secondly, the tech and VC ecosystem will continue to draw program management talent, because that’s where innovation hubs, accelerators, venture studios, and VCs need people who can run structured, outcome-driven programs at speed.
Thirdly, personal brand and visible thought leadership will only matter more as the field gets more competitive. Fourthly, program managers will be increasingly in demand by community organisers, ecosystem enablers, and conference organisers who need technical program management skills to deliver learning and experience for their events.
If I were coaching someone entering this field today, I’d tell them to build toward all these areas: commercial fluency, tech/VC exposure, and a visible track record.
What advice do you have for individuals considering a career in program management?
A few things I’d say:
- Build capacity to manage a portfolio, not just a single project.
- Learn to manage scope creep and shifting stakeholder priorities by bringing solutions, not just objections> You can propose additional support or pause a CSR-style program to focus resources on a revenue-generating one.
- Invest in your personal brand early through thought leadership, storytelling, and visible work.
- Build genuine mental and emotional resilience. This can be a thankless job, and you’ll need emotional intelligence and strong communication skills to handle pressure from multiple directions at once while still engaging professionally at every interaction.
- Do your research on industry compensation and find a mentor in program management who can guide you through salary negotiation.
- As you grow into director-level roles, deliberately shift from being an individual contributor to leading through others.
- Know when it’s time to pivot organisations versus grow where you are.
- Take documentation seriously. Programs collapse during handovers and departures far more often than they should.
- Find mentors who’ve walked this path, and once you’re established, mentor others.
